Missouri Added to Football Schedule

John Garcia Jr.

03/02/2012

In a bit of a surprise move, Syracuse University announced early Friday that the football program has added Missouri to the schedule in 2012. This leaves just one empty spot on the schedule, to be filled by the newest Big East program.

So much for facing another FCS team for Syracuse football. The SU Athletic Department announced that the team will take a trip to Columbia on November 17 to face the SEC-bound Missouri Tigers, who were 8-5 in 2011 and capped off their season with a 41-24 win over North Carolina in the 2012 Independence Bowl.

"Across the country conference realignment has dramatically impacted 2012 football schedules," said head coach Doug Marrone. "In our effort to fill the voids left by Texas Christian University, which was slated to be a home game, and West Virginia University leaving the BIG EAST Conference, we worked exhaustively to schedule a home game, but were limited by the number of schools that had openings on their schedules. Our discussions included Florida State, Arkansas, Boise State and Nevada. We did not pursue a second FCS opponent. Although we could not schedule the game at home, we are fortunate that another BCS team like Missouri was available."

The matchup against the Tigers in 2012 is a one-year agreement, as both schools looked to fill a big-time void in this year's schedule due to conference re-alignment.

There is still one vacant spot in the schedule, o be filled by a team added to the Big East before the start of the seasson. At this point, Temple seems to be the likeliest to fill the spot.